DJI Phantom 4: Real computer vision comes to a consumer drone

It’s one thing to create a flying camera. There are now dozens of drones with all manner of cameras for recording flights and chronicling events. However, despite having cameras — and other sensors — consumer-grade drones haven’t much use of vision to help them with navigation. DJI is changing all that with its new DJI Phantom 4. It does on-board vision processing to support collision avoidance, smart return to home, and even automated subject tracking. For those worried about crashing their expensive investment, the Phantom 4 makes that less likely than ever before.

Automated subject tracking

A simple tap of the display is used to lock the Phantom 4 onto your subject. The drone will then track that subject, even if it twists and turns. This should allow some great footage of extreme sports or other hard-to-follow activities. This type of object recognition and tracking is common in very-high-end drones — like those used by the military — but it is novel to have it operating in real time in a consumer-level (well, okay, high-end consumer level) unit. If the unit does land hard, its magnesium underbody should help it weather the shock. Its obstacle sensing capability is rated to work from about 2 to 50 feet — as long as it has at least 15 lux of illumination to work with.

The Phantom 4 also features an updated propulsion system and a larger battery, extending its flight time to 28 minutes (an increase of about 25% over the Phantom 3 Pro). This will make those using one for long-range flights, or in windy conditions, breathe a little easier. A new Sport Mode enables higher-performance flying than before, made possible by a redesign of the drone itself — an integrated gimbal, and new battery and motor locations — and an improved flight control system. In Sport Mode the Phantom 4 can achieve speeds of up to about 44 mph, similar to that of the new HEXO+ model we looked at earlier this year.

For those desiring a simple interface for flying the Phantom 4, it includes TapFly — a touch-based control mode. In that mode you simply tap a location on the display and the drone will plan a route and fly there — while avoiding obstacles. DJI specs a control range of up to 3.1 miles for the Lightbridge used with the Phantom 4.

Yes, it has a sweet camera, too

The built-in camera on the Phantom 4 has a 1/2.3-inch sensor that can record 4K video at 30fps, or 1080p at up to 120fps, for good-looking slow-motion scenes. DJI says the new model’s 20mm (35mm equivalent) f/2.8 lens is also a major upgrade, and will provide sharper images than previous models.

Professional videographers will appreciate that there is a selection of video profiles including D-Log and Cine-D. Pro photographers will appreciate the drone’s ability to capture RAW images (in DNG format) at up to 12MP, in addition to JPEG format, JPEG HDR, and time lapse images. The camera features an integrated 3-axis gimbal that looks streamlined compared with many others on the market. Images are stored on a microSD card, with cards up to 64GB supported.

The Phantom 4 also supports DJI’s SDK, so developers can work to add their own software and hardware functionality. The product is expect to ship in late March, with a street price of $1,400.

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I wish people would learn how to PROPERLY fly these things on a simulator before trying to fly one. They just take them out of the box, plug em in, charge them up, and VOLLA! I’m a pilot! Buuuuuuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Nope, that’s not how it works, no matter WHAT kind of automation it has.

http://www.cardinalphoto.com/ David Cardinal

Definitely an issue. Fortunately, each generation is getting more stable (and harder to crash:-). Of course, they are also capable of flying further, and getting themselves in more trouble. That’s for simple “routed” flights. Once you start racing them or flying through obstacles, all bets are off (although at least the Phantom 4 might be able to avoid the obstacles).

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